1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to portable, battery powered pill crushers and splitters and, more particularly, to a battery operated pill crusher having a motorized, rotating plunger in a portable configuration.
2. Description of the Related Art
Modern medicine has taken great strides over the years, producing cures and treatments for thousands of diseases, many of which were at one time incurable or uncontrollable. Attacking these ailments from a variety of angles, some of the greatest achievements made along these lines are in the area of medications and both prescription drugs and over-the-counter drugs. Simply by taking a pill, one can be relieved or cured of a variety of ailments ranging from the common cold to rare and exotic diseases. However, many people experience extreme difficulty in swallowing pills whole and are forced to crush them, allowing them to ingest the pill in combination with food or drink. While this procedure is often effective, the process of crushing the pill can be difficult for many and also can result in losing the medication as the crushing takes place.
A search of the prior art did not disclose any patents that read directly on the claims of the instant invention; however, the following references were considered related.
The following patents describe pill-crushing, top-mounted cups for storing and/or dispensing:
U.S. Pat. No. 5,618,004 issued in the name of Klearman et. al.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,892,595 issued in the name of Tupper
U.S. Pat. No. D 337,828 issued in the name of Gordon
The following patents disclose various hand-held pill or tablet pulverizers:
U.S. Pat. No. 5,531,386* issued in the name of Jensen
U.S. Pat. No. 5,178,337* issued in the name of Lupoli
U.S. Pat. No. 5,123,601* issued in the name of Lavin et. al.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,366,930* issued in the name of Trombetti et. al.
U.S. Pat. No. D 285,966* issued in the name of Porter
The following two patents describe a mortar and pestle assembly for grating pills:
U.S. Pat. No. 4,967,971 issued in the name of Smith; and
U.S. Pat. No. 4,003,523 issued in the name of Doolittle
And, U.S. Pat. No. 5,067,666 issued in the name of Sussman describes power-driven portable pill pulverizer.
Consequently, a there is a need for a means by which one can crush pills easily, effectively and without losing any part of the medication dosage.
Therefore, it is an object of the invention to provide for to a battery operated pill crusher by which one can crush pills easily, effectively and without losing any part of the medication dosage.
It is a feature of the present invention to provide a battery powered pill crusher having a motorized, rotating plunger in a portable configuration.
Briefly described according to one embodiment of the present invention, a small mill-type device is provided that is used to crush solid pills or tablets. The device includes a small mill-type mechanism, similar in nature to that of a I pepper mill, that is used to grind the pills into a granular consistency. The pill or pills are inserted in the top of the device and ground in the mill, the crushed pills being deposited in a reservoir in the bottom of the device. The reservoir is removable and provides a convenient manner by which to pour the ground pills into the food or drink being used as a carrier to ingest the drug. Available in both battery powered and hand cranked models, the device is completely submersible, allowing it to be cleaned between uses in order to prevent contamination between different drugs.
As a result, use of the present invention makes taking medications an easy pill to swallow.
An advantage of the present invention is that it reduces lost medications in the pulverizing process.
Another advantage of the present invention is that it makes it easy to ingest medications.
Yet another object of the present invention is that it provides a reservoir which stores crushed pill.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide such a device that is completely submersible for easy and effective cleaning.